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A Disappointing First Chapter of The Greek Orthodox Church in America
This summer, Alexander Kitroeff’s new book The Greek Orthodox Church in America: A Modern History was published by Northern Illinois University Press. It’s an ambitious book, attempting to span 150 years of history in a…
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The Position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church (1924)
The remarkable article that follows was written by then-Metropolitan Christophoros of Leontopolis (future Patriarch Christophoros II of Alexandria) in 1924, and was published in Paintanos, an official organ of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and…
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A Brief Life of Meletios Metaxakis
In the early 20th century, no fewer than seven of the world’s Orthodox Churches had succession crises (Cyprus, Greece, Constantinople, Moscow, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem). Meletios Metaxakis was involved in five of them. Meletios…
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When did the Roman Empire end: 1917 or 1922?
The era of World War I transformed global Orthodoxy as we know it and produced the context that we live in today. The Russian Empire fell, and with it the Tsar and the Byzantine…
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How Many Orthodox Christians Are in the World?
In 1991, when Bartholomew I was enthroned as Ecumenical Patriarch, the Los Angeles Times ran the following headline: “Bartholomeos I Installed as Leader of 200 Million Orthodox Christians.” Six years later, in 1997, the same…
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Patriarch Nikon’s Reforms and the Spoon Controversy
On June 8, the OCA website published “A Letter of a Parish Priest to His Flock.” This letter has been shared widely on social media, by people of many different Orthodox jurisdictions. It was…